Why mathematicians ignore holidays: Oct 31 = Dec 25.

2008.03.29

I love this picture from the Telegraph of sheep herded into the word "spring". Note the ovine wandering out of the dotted "i" in the second picture - definitely a black sheep in spirit, if not in color.

On the other hand, in my neck of the woods, we got four inches of very heavy wet snow yesterday, and today the temperature hasn't risen above freezing. But the robins are going to town on worms floating out of the swampland in the back yard. There must have been fifteen of them at the "all you can eat" buffet!

And for more English sheep fun, visit this BBC game. You might want to turn off the sound, but I find I react faster to sound than to sight.

2008.03.14

2008.03.13

The maple that appeared in recent photos is now just a pile of sawdust. It had been unwell* in the last year because of damage from a really bad thunderstorm in 2003, so I called in the tree guys. They estimated, given the local storm damage, that they'd get to me in two to three weeks. In a mystery of space and time, they came the next day. But, no, I'm certainly not complaining!

*I love the phrase. It reminds me of one of my favorite lines from My Favorite Year: "Ladies are unwell, Stone. Gentlemen vomit."

2008.03.08

These are my psychotic daffodils, which are growing in the midst of snow, sleet, ice and deluge. I'm sure their good buddies, the crocuses and snowdrops, are also out there under the snow, but they may float away before they get much taller.

2008.03.07

My day started sometime before 6am when I discovered that the hose had blown off the sump pump during the night. Result: a seriously flooded basement, so I ran downstairs to reconnect and drain. (Side prediction: knee-length nightgown and rubber boots will appear on all the catwalks this season. Ooo la la!)

The downed branches are from the Tuesday's ice storm. Today we've been wavering between heavy snow and freezing rain. Frankly, I'd prefer the snow.